Of Crutches and Legends
by Ironinkpen
Summary: The story's just beginning, and he's got the perfect companion for when it unfolds.


**Summary:** The story's just beginning, and he's got the perfect companion for when it unfolds. (Hiccup-Toothless bromance involving leg and fin comparisons requested by frosty-viking on tumblr. If you want a fic, too, just donate $5 or more to Relay For Life under Team dream! The website will be listed at the end!)

**Rating:** T

**Pairing:** None

* * *

I don't own How To Train Your Dragon

* * *

Berk- a small island on the Meridian of Misery riddled in fog and darkness, twelve days north of Hopeless and just south of Freezing to Death. During the three months it doesn't snow, there's hail. When there_ is_ sunshine, it's scorching. In a land of Vikings, extremes are all you get.

The pets, though, are an upside, Hiccup admits. While some places have parakeets and ponies, they have… well, however hard it is to believe:

_Dragons_.

And this is, in part, due to him, he knows. It's a story that always begins with the same sentence, one with the plot drawn taut and frayed with use: One night several years ago, he changed the very face of Berk forever. Ignoring the protests of his fellow Vikings and charging out during a raid, Hiccup had managed to prop up one of his eccentric inventions and launched it blindly, hitting an elusive Nightfury.

(_I really hit it! It went down just off of Raven Point!_)

He remembers that back then, he had been so very determined to kill the creature- so convinced that it would help him join the ranks of his peers. He wouldn't be Hiccup the Useless anymore. He would be Hiccup the Hero, or Hiccup the Tough. Or maybe, at the very least, Hiccup the Resourceful. He would have taken any acknowledgement at that point.

But when he ran out of his house to search for the dragon he shot down and found it all trapped in his net, he just couldn't kill it. Well, he supposes, he _wouldn't_, as he had put it to Astrid so long ago. He brought a dagger, so it wasn't as if he didn't have the capability, he just didn't have the capacity. He looked into the creature's eyes, right before he was about to drive that dagger into his heart, and he saw in them a reflection of himself.

A lot of his kinsmen still laugh about what happened next even today. He understands why, obviously- little Hiccup the Useless, the scrawniest and weakest of all the Vikings, not only catches the rarest dragon of them all, but _lets it go_.

It's a marvel, Hiccup has come to realize, that he wasn't killed right then and there. If it had been any other dragon, would he be dead? Possibly. What he had gotten instead was a roar to the face and a very unmanly fainting session.

Any normal person would have let it be after that, though, right? But, even as a young, ostracized kid, little Hiccup was still a Viking to the end. And, of course, that meant he had a bit of a stubbornness issue.

He's relayed the story to many people- the villagers, and even visitors from near and far who hear his name in the whispers of fairy tales. Each time, he explains that when he went back to the cove, he didn't know what to expect. He certainly hadn't expected his dragon to still be there, jumping around rock ledges and trying to escape.

And he certainly hadn't fathomed that he'd feel bad for him.

A tail fin, distinctly _gone_. Hiccup to this very day ponders how it happened- had it caught on a tree and torn off? Or did some hungry animal decided to grab a quick bite?

The thought rather disgusts him, so he doesn't think of it much, but it's still part of the full circle ending.

Because, he stepped down one day, and met his best friend.

The first meeting was, of course, overwhelming. Going towards a dragon without the intent to kill it? Dropping your weapon in front of it? Feeding it? Unheard of in any Viking code!

(Is there a Viking code? Hiccup doesn't know if there is, but he supposes that he's already broken all of the rules in it anyway.)

But finally, finally, he felt smooth scales underneath his palm and knew that something was happening.

This is where the tale, of course, picks up speed. This is where old men and women and little girls and boys lean in with expressions alight and interest shining in their eyes, because, oh, they need to know, Hiccup, what happens next?

And he'll smile at them and tell them of Gobber's words, of how a downed dragon was a dead dragon, of the moment he realized that this new connection he was beginning to grasp wasn't going to survive if he couldn't do something to help. It was his fault, after all- Toothless losing his tail fin. He would have to give it back.

So, he tried.

The first attempt, however, proved that Toothless was forever crippled- he couldn't move without his tail fin. He would never fly alone again.

And it was all Hiccup's fault.

Yet, there was hope. Toothless had been able to fly, if only for a little while, and Hiccup made it so. And it was stupid of him, very, very stupid of him, but he liked that he was being useful. Even if it was to a dragon.

And, of course, being young and crazy, he had recklessly thought that if he snuck around stealthily enough, his village wouldn't find out that he befriended a murderous fire breather.

Ha.

He always gets laughs there.

Anyway, between toughing out Dragon Training and working at the forge, Hiccup tore through several prototypes for Toothless's fin, and, then, his harness. It wasn't easy, of course- he had almost been caught by Astrid several times, and he finally was the day before his final Dragon Exam, where he was expected to kill a Monstrous Nightmare.

Understandably, he couldn't do that after all he had been through. Astrid didn't really get that at first.

(_I scared him?!)_

She came around, though.

(_Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile_.)

The Nest is a part he always waters down for the littler kids. No need to tell them of dragons eating other dragons, especially with the peace they live in now. Berk's come a long way in these four years, and the newest generation is learning to coexist with their, well, co-inhabitants. Even the elder villagers are learning to accept things as they are.

However, the old Stoic the Vast was not so understanding as he is today. The Nest was the Chief's duty- what he, and many others, had strived towards for generations. When Hiccup and Astrid found it… well, needless to say it came as a shock to them both.

(But, they didn't tell him, because Hiccup was still stupid and hopeful and Astrid was trusting.)

The 'battle' with the Monstrous Nightmare, however, was a disaster. What was supposed to be a grand finale- a revolutionary moment- turned into the beginning of the climax. Toothless, bound and chained and helpless to fly away alone, taken away by his own father, who disowned him shortly after. Ships sailing away. The thought of them never returning because they didn't know what they were up against, not really, because dad never listened.

(_What are you gonna do about it?_)

(_Ehhhh, probably something stupid._)

(_Good, but you've already done that_.)

(_…Then, something crazy._)

The children of Berk became the heroes that day, embracing enemies and fighting with them. They did something no one had ever done in the history of Berk- well, before Hiccup, that is.

They tamed dragons.

Hiccup doesn't remember much after that, he'll admit. The battle was a blur- chasing and flying and falling and finding. He remembers forgiveness and fear and stupid, stupid bravery.

(_Well, he can fly!_)

He remembers friendship and the feeling of slipping through fingers and anger and darkness.

He remembers waking up to Toothless right there, alive, _in his room_. He remembers throwing off his covers, and then looking down, and seeing retribution.

This is usually where he throws in a little spectacle with the prosthetic. Sometimes he'll remove it, and toss it to some of the kids so they can inspect it.

"This is my leg now," He says, "Pretty cool, right?"

And of course at the moment, it wasn't 'pretty cool', not at all. It was horrible, and looking at it left a sour taste in his mouth. But when he glanced at Toothless, his faithful friend, he didn't feel too bad anymore. He didn't feel better, not at all, but he didn't feel bad.

He distinctly recalls the feeling of walking out the door that first day after two weeks of being out cold. Dragons- dragons everywhere, hopping on buildings, pestering villagers for food, strolling around the paths as if they belonged there.

(_I knew it. I'm dead_.)

(_No, but you gave it your best shot._)

And Toothless's weight on his back was familiar and comforting, and he stepped into this new, changed Berk without one leg, but with a nice crutch to lean on.

Now that he's a little older, Hiccup can see more of the irony in the situation. He supposes that the gods _must_ have a sense of humor, given this set up. Odin's probably laughing it up right now.

A leg for a fin.

They match.

He doesn't really mind it as much, though. In fact, it makes things easier for him, given that his occupation is now teaching people how to befriend and fly dragons. Being in sync with your other half really helps the process a lot.

Little kids will sometimes ask him if he's sad, or if he wants his leg back, or if Toothless wants the rest of his fin back.

Hiccup always says, "I actually like it. Makes me look more tough!" And Toothless, with a follow up snort and croon combination, shows his agreement.

(That dragon's probably getting all the lady dragons right now, what with his battle scars.)

And he always gets the occasional: Do you ever regret shooting Toothless down?

The answer to that is, of course, a firm "No". Maybe he regrets that his friend had to lose his tail fin for this all to kick up, but he doesn't regret the path it took them on- _takes _them on.

Some other people ask him how he hasn't gone crazy- these guys are usually from the mainland, with their fancy armor and waistcoats- and how he can cope with the loss of his leg.

"I hardly notice it, most of the time. Besides, I'm a Viking. It's a bit of an occupational hazard."

And they'll laugh it off, but Hiccup's serious. Though the occupation has lost it's previously renowned and highly sought after blood-shed, it's still dangerous. Other clans sometimes come to kill the dragons (something about them being good sacrifices or whatever- Hiccup thinks they're crazy), and there's always a person falling off their partner and over the sea. He knows that the village doctor is having a field day with all this work- if anything, the casualties have increased in the past few years, because it's now that the village is trying to get used to something new, something tentative. They don't know where to start. They haven't quite grown into it yet.

But Hiccup knows they'll make it.

The village of Berk, bland and dreary as it may seem, is packed with tough people, stubborn ones who don't give in. This is a new challenge for them, that's all. They'll catch up.

But, for now Hiccup'll enjoy his place soaring over the others, the black speck dancing above the clouds and out of sight. He'll listen to the whispers of his story spread and forever love it because, yeah, little Hiccup the Useless did something no one had ever done before, and maybe sort of introduced Berk- and the whole world- to the coolest pets ever.

Sure he lost a leg while doing that, but, hey, he figures that's a small price to pay for the friend he has beside him today. And even if they lose some parts, and even if they can't stand on their own, they can always support each other's weight.

Crowds disperse at the current end of his tale, and they go off to share the adventure of the pair who beat all odds, and formed a friendship no one could begin to fathom. Hiccup knows that people are wondering what they'll do next. He wonders, too.

He knows it'll be exciting, though.

After all, Hiccup the Brave and Toothless the Loyal are legends. And legends have a habit of living up to themselves.

(And that's sort of pretty cool.)

* * *

.

.

.

.

Ahh, I enjoyed this one. Hope you liked it!

If you want a fic of your own- no restrictions to your request, promise- just donate at least $5 to Relay For Life here:

main. acsevents site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13EA?team_id=1402678&pg=team&fr_id=49322

Thanks in advance!


End file.
